Noranda Bauxite & Alumina, a subsidiary of New Day Aluminum, plans to spend $35 million to upgrade and expand its alumina manufacturing facility in Gramercy, and will establish its company headquarters at the St. James Parish refinery.
In a statement issued earlier today, Louisiana Economic Development says the project will generate about 65 new direct jobs—including 15 corporate headquarters jobs with an annual salary of $90,000 plus benefits.
LED also says the project will result in another 185 new indirect jobs, in addition to 396 existing jobs Noranda also intends to retain at the refinery.
“This is a great opportunity to create new good-paying jobs and to secure hundreds of existing jobs at an industrial mainstay in our River Parishes,” Gov. John Bel Edwards says in a news release. “Noranda’s new ownership team is committed to the success of its business, and we are pleased to provide strategic assistance to their efforts to modernize and expand their operation in Gramercy.”
Noranda acquired the refinery in 2016 from its previous owner in bankruptcy proceeding. The plant was built by Kaiser Aluminum & Chemical Corp. and has operated in St. James Parish since 1958. It is located along the Mississippi River, less than a mile downriver from the Veterans Memorial Bridge.
Noranda says it will use the investment to design and install equipment to increase the production, storage and shipping capabilities of chemical-grade alumina, a product used in industrial applications like water treatment, flame retardants, and catalysts for oil, gas and petrochemical refining, among other applications.
“These capital improvements represent the largest capital expenditure at Gramercy in more than a decade,” Noranda Bauxite & Alumina CEO David D’Addario says in a statement. “The projects will not only expand the production capacity for our valued CGA customers and create new jobs for our community; they will help ensure the continuation of this business and its 400-plus jobs by enabling us to operate more efficiently and effectively and with even greater environmental responsibility.”
LED has offered the company an incentive package that includes a $1 million in performance-based, forgivable loans offered under the state’s Economic Development Award Program for facility construction and equipment. The company also has been offered a Modernization Tax Credit of $200,000 a year for five years on capital investment for facility upgrades and equipment.
The company is expected to utilize the state’s FastStart program as well as Quality Jobs and Industrial Tax Exemption programs.
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